By chance, I am just now reading a book "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridleyp189, he argues " Rural self-sufficiency is a romantic mirage. Urban opportunity is what people want. ....It is a measure of economic progress that more than half the population can leave subsistence and seek the possibilities of a life based on the collective brain instead."Goes along with what I guess is my cautious liberalism as exposed by the questionnaire.

That's odd, there's a community about 23 miles from here that's entirely off-the-grid and self-sufficient.

Certainly, there are some people that would rather rely on the collective brain than accept the personal responsibility and effort required to take care of themselves.

I agree it is a sign of economic progress for people to be able to make such a move. In my opinion, the quality of life is actually worse in the metro areas despite the 'economic progress'.

By chance, I am just now reading a book "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridleyp189, he argues " Rural self-sufficiency is a romantic mirage. Urban opportunity is what people want. ....It is a measure of economic progress that more than half the population can leave subsistence and seek the possibilities of a life based on the collective brain instead."Goes along with what I guess is my cautious liberalism as exposed by the questionnaire.

That's odd, there's a community about 23 miles from here that's entirely off-the-grid and self-sufficient.

Certainly, there are some people that would rather rely on the collective brain than accept the personal responsibility and effort required to take care of themselves.

I agree it is a sign of economic progress for people to be able to make such a move. In my opinion, the quality of life is actually worse in the metro areas despite the 'economic progress'.

I'm all for being off-the-grid if you can manage it but in life at large (e.g. sending this e-mail) I cannot help but depend on many hundreds of people. Still slowly getting through the book on non-tennis days . On the whole, the optimism is a bit thick and much of the argument is unqualified but it does make a good read. Next section to read is The Mad World of Biofuels .

A couple more quotes from a 1950s novel by John P. Marquand.

Perhaps (success) is nothing tangible but rather a state of mind that makes you content within the frame where life has placed you.

Make no mistake, the folks in the community I mentioned rely quite heavily on each other.Some have already lived the 'big city' life and now take great pleasure in their rural existence.The wealth that they have can't be measured in nickels and dimes.

I could never take the big city life as in NYC or even Chicago. The Washington suburbs for me are optimal and I rarely go downtown. Getting through the book. The latest chapter is on Innovation which the author regards as the key to cultural and material advancement. One sees this in the country too. My cousin runs the old family farm in Ireland and always has taken great pleasure at finding neat new ways to do things which both increase productivity and give him and his family more time for other activities. There also the neighbors rely heavily on each other.

I couldn't live in the country. It's dark; it's empty; it's boring; it smells like farm animals; there's nothing to do; you have to drive out of the city to do/buy the things you want/need; it's too racially homogeneous; not enough diversity for my taste.

I couldn't live in the country. It's dark; it's empty; it's boring; it smells like farm animals; there's nothing to do; you have to drive out of the city to do/buy the things you want/need; it's too racially homogeneous; not enough diversity for my taste.

I think you're right, it's all about tastes.Personally, I prefer the smell of fresh cow manure to the smog and hot tarmac of city life. (not that the manure actually smells good!)

As for things to do, I guess that's a matter of personal taste as well.I'd much rather spend a quiet day fishing on the river watching the eagles fly by than riding on subways, shopping, or going to a show.

Make no mistake, the folks in the community I mentioned rely quite heavily on each other.Some have already lived the 'big city' life and now take great pleasure in their rural existence.The wealth that they have can't be measured in nickels and dimes.

Perhaps the quote you shared from Marquand has some merit!

That is sooooo ridiculous and you are so blind!

The Randian Utopia: be a winner in the rat race, then move to a retirement community where no one has needs.

See, that's why yous guys sound ridiculous to the rest of us. And you can't even see that.

To me that is the fundamental difference between conservatives and liberals. One thing I notice is that ALL liberals obsess about skin color constantly. Conservatives just see people and ideas.

People with different skin colors get treated differently and therefore have different experiences and outlooks on life. That's what I like. And no, I don't like walking into a room and seeing it filled with people of one race, whether they are all black or all white. Makes me wonder why there is self-imposed segregation in the first place. And I live in the SOUTH where segregation is everywhere! Even today!

Make no mistake, the folks in the community I mentioned rely quite heavily on each other.Some have already lived the 'big city' life and now take great pleasure in their rural existence.The wealth that they have can't be measured in nickels and dimes.

Perhaps the quote you shared from Marquand has some merit!

That is sooooo ridiculous and you are so blind!

The Randian Utopia: be a winner in the rat race, then move to a retirement community where no one has needs.

See, that's why yous guys sound ridiculous to the rest of us. And you can't even see that.

That must still be pretty smelly having just been pulled from your arse.

The community I'm refering to is a group of families made up of as many as 4 generations.There are also dozens of individuals in this area living virtually unsupported by any 'collective brain'.For an author such as Eukora quoted to spout such nonsense is pure B.S.

I especially like your closing statement where you think you're speaking for the collective 'us'. Can anyone say Megalomaniac?

"The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved. To this type belong many lunatics and most of the great men of history." [Bertrand Russell]

I've a pretty good guess as to which one you think you are!

Small wonder that you now find yourself on the backside of life with no mate or meaningful relationship.Therefore it's not the least bit surprising that you're so maniacal about being part of a collective.

The community I'm refering to is a group of families made up of as many as 4 generations.There are also dozens of individuals in this area living virtually unsupported by any 'collective brain'.For an author such as Eukora quoted to spout such nonsense is pure B.S.

I think you and Matt Ridley agree more than you care to admit, mt. Further on (p.273) he says:"In other words, we may soon be living in a post-capitalist, post corporate world, where individuals are free to come together in temporary aggregations to share, collaborate, and innovate...." This is what your folk are doing on a generational (but still short) time-scale. This is what we are doing writing postings for tennis4you. Here the time scale is shorter partly because I'm going to start playing tennis again tomorrow and Saturday and will stop posting for a few days while I recover.

The community I'm refering to is a group of families made up of as many as 4 generations.There are also dozens of individuals in this area living virtually unsupported by any 'collective brain'.For an author such as Eukora quoted to spout such nonsense is pure B.S.

I think you and Matt Ridley agree more than you care to admit, mt. Further on (p.273) he says:"In other words, we may soon be living in a post-capitalist, post corporate world, where individuals are free to come together in temporary aggregations to share, collaborate, and innovate...." This is what your folk are doing on a generational (but still short) time-scale. This is what we are doing writing postings for tennis4you. Here the time scale is shorter partly because I'm going to start playing tennis again tomorrow and Saturday and will stop posting for a few days while I recover.

As long as Mr. Ridley's position is that the individuals are free to contribute to whom and what they choose I think it's fantastic!My issue is with the folks who are advocating big gov. as a collection and distrubtion agency of my life, my time and my effort.I assure you, that will not happen.I've mentioned before that I've been liquidating assets for over 10 years now in an attempt to divest myself of any measurable material belongings that can be taxed by the BabbleState in the name of helping others.I choose who and how much of my life that I contribute to others.

From what I've read in your journal, your recovery time should be rather short! It sounds like you are in excellent tennis shape! Swing a few serves out wide for me while you're out there!

As long as Mr. Ridley's position is that the individuals are free to contribute to whom and what they choose I think it's fantastic!My issue is with the folks who are advocating big gov. as a collection and distrubtion agency of my life, my time and my effort.I assure you, that will not happen.I've mentioned before that I've been liquidating assets for over 10 years now in an attempt to divest myself of any measurable material belongings that can be taxed by the BabbleState in the name of helping others.I choose who and how much of my life that I contribute to others.

From what I've read in your journal, your recovery time should be rather short! It sounds like you are in excellent tennis shape! Swing a few serves out wide for me while you're out there!

Yet you used the state-built infrastructure to accumulate your wealth. You are obligated to give back.

As long as Mr. Ridley's position is that the individuals are free to contribute to whom and what they choose I think it's fantastic!My issue is with the folks who are advocating big gov. as a collection and distrubtion agency of my life, my time and my effort.I assure you, that will not happen.I've mentioned before that I've been liquidating assets for over 10 years now in an attempt to divest myself of any measurable material belongings that can be taxed by the BabbleState in the name of helping others.I choose who and how much of my life that I contribute to others.

From what I've read in your journal, your recovery time should be rather short! It sounds like you are in excellent tennis shape! Swing a few serves out wide for me while you're out there!

Yet you used the state-built infrastructure to accumulate your wealth. You are obligated to give back.

As long as Mr. Ridley's position is that the individuals are free to contribute to whom and what they choose I think it's fantastic!My issue is with the folks who are advocating big gov. as a collection and distrubtion agency of my life, my time and my effort.I assure you, that will not happen.I've mentioned before that I've been liquidating assets for over 10 years now in an attempt to divest myself of any measurable material belongings that can be taxed by the BabbleState in the name of helping others.I choose who and how much of my life that I contribute to others.

From what I've read in your journal, your recovery time should be rather short! It sounds like you are in excellent tennis shape! Swing a few serves out wide for me while you're out there!

Yet you used the state-built infrastructure to accumulate your wealth. You are obligated to give back.

State-built = my tax dollars. (and yours too of course).

But there are some things that are run on tax dollars that you'll never use: public schools, public libraries, streets and signs in other towns.